In Iraq, and now Syria, US seeks secular outcome by… promoting sectarian division

Everybody is talking about Syria, which we can allagreeis a mess. With rare exception, this site has not been covering Syria, but I must point out that Assad is fighting a jihadist-dominated rebel movement,
and the US is continuing to insert itself by utilizing the "inclusion
of some of the more radical forces... to assert a moderate authority in
Syria"(pdf). How reassuring--not.

There's an illusion that exists widely in the mainstream that the US
is trying to build strong or moderate secular states we can all relate
to. This neverending fantasy of a benevolent US role in nation building
is perpetuated by the constant drumbeat of sectarian divisions in the Middle East, divisions the US does not shy away from fostering, as they seem to justify positioning our influence as a "moderating force."